Too much Internet use may leave kids 'brain-dead': Expert

LONDON: A 'Google generation' which relies on the Internet for everything is in danger of becoming 'brain-dead', a leading UK inventor has warned.

Trevor Baylis, who invented the wind-up radio, said children are losing creativity and practical skills because they spend too much time in front of screens.

The 75-year-old from Twickenham, south-west London, said he fears that the next generation of inventors is being lost, with young people often unable to make anything with their hands, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

He said children could rediscover vital skills if schools used practical toys like Meccano, a model construction system.

"Children have got to be taught hands-on, and not to become mobile phone or computer dependent," Baylis said.

"They should use computers as and when, but there are so many people playing with their computers nowadays that spend all their time sitting there with a stomach," he said.

"They are dependent on Google searches. A lot of kids will become fairly brain-dead if they become so dependent on the Internet, because they will not be able to do things the old-fashioned way," he said.